Monday, September 15, 2014

So I decided to continue this because honestly can we ever stop being grateful for what we have?

Gratitude No. 1

I am grateful for the recent leaked celebrities pictures scandal (aka The Fappening) and the recent gmail password hack. These events have served to remind me of the need to always keep my password secure. Even my favourite person in the whole world (after Jesus) Kate Upton was not spared. I reached out to her through email and told her that I felt her pain and was there for her if she ever wanted to talk, and I am sure she looks great in those pictures which I didn’t view because of my respect for her. Alas she did not reply. I like almost everyone else, has numerous compromising photos of myself on iCloud which I always thought were completely secure and private. I also learned that myb1gsta11ionpen1s is not a secure password.

Gratitude No. 2

So my birthday passed rather uneventfully last Saturday. I have to say I was more than a bit disappointed that the total sum of the gifts I received was well below 500. In my despair I cried out to God asking why was this happening to me. Usually I speak to God through King Kong but he was going through his own issues so I did not want to burden him further with my troubles, no matter how great they were. Amazingly God replied!! I think cos it was my birthday, but who am I to question the reason. And he was like take a chill pill Gilbert, I am truly sorry your birthday turned out to not what you expected, but maybe you need to look within yourself as to the reason for that.

And so I did and I realized he was right (is God ever wrong?) .I realized I had been presumptuous and completely unfair to my friends. I had posted my wish on my Facebook wall and simply assumed they all would have read it like they do every other post of mine. But now it was clear that many did not! So I am grateful for the fact that I managed to realize this with a little help from the J man. I will be emailing everyone my post from earlier so that can send me the appropriately priced gifts. Nice thing is that for Tamils , we celebrate our birthday up to a month after the actual date so it’s actually ok to send belated gifts. But to those of you who read and did not bother, you are DEAD to me.

An honorable mention to those who threw the nice bbq for me , although I was forced to share it with another friend who shared the same birth date as me. I wasn't too happy about it cos he was kind of stealing half my thunder ( I even had to co-blow the cake), but i decided to let it slide because that's who I am.

Gratitude No. 3

I am grateful for the security guard at the VFS India Visa Center who told me to put away my phone even after I pointed out the no phone rule seemed to be ONLY for talking on the phone according to the sign. Even though I did not understand how looking at my phone screen could affect anyone in their office, it had the effect of letting me sit there in quiet contemplation for the next hour while I waited for my turn. For that I am grateful. II can’t remember the last time I had the chance to listen to the continuous crying of a baby or the angry shouts of the man who apparently had a photo that wasn’t acceptable after waiting for an hour and a half as he complained as to why they could not have showed samples of unacceptable photos on their website , a rather legitimate complaint.

When it come to my turn , I was told I needed a letter from the company in Singapore (I didn’t) as well as a letter from the company in India (I did). I apologised and asked if I could fax over the other letter on Monday but they said no , that I had to come in and queue again to resubmit my application. And this is where I am now typing this. So I am grateful for that either I wouldn’t have the free time to type this while I wait for another hour. Thanks!

Sunday, September 07, 2014

I've been book-challenged by Val to list 10 books that reveal my 'book-self'

In Chronological order

1001 Arabian Nights - Thie first book I could remember reading , think I was 11 or 12. I remember being fascinated by the stories of Alladin and Ali Baba.

The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin - Probably the reason for me getting into fantasy. I still think Rowling ripped her off.

The Belgariad/Mallorean by David Eddings - Extremely funny and amazing characters. And Ce'Nedra was freaking hot.

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel - To be honest I don't remember anything about this book except that it had these amazing sex scenes in it. Yes I was a young perv, but this was pre-internet and it was pretty shocking to me. I can't remember the number of times I borrowed the book from the library.

The Empire Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts - If you like Game of Thrones , you will like this as well. Only difference is the protagonist is a woman who basically fights for her family's political survival after the death of her husband.

The Winslow Boy - My literature text and I absolutely loved it! It was a play about a father who sacrifices everything to prove his boy's innocence after he was expelled for stealing.

1001 Nights without Sex by Suzanne Schlosberg - I found this to be really funny and I loved her sense of humor

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid - I loved the narrative style here, it was really unique. And it was quite tense as well , especially the ending.

The Kite Runner - The book that shocked me the most. Really graphic and some heart wrenching scenes in this one.

The Princess Bride - Probably the funniest book I ever read that has torture scenes in it.

Wednesday, September 03, 2014

Gratitude Challenge Day 5
You may wonder why it has been so long since my last post for this Challenge. Or you might have not even noticed or cared, in which case I hate you so just stop reading here and go back to reading crap about Kim Kardashian or Bieber! But if you are not , the reason is it has been a trying few weeks for me , so much so that I have not been able to really feel any gratitude. I been going through quite a few rather painful experiences including, but not limited to a really horrid dental appointment, tiring house viewings (I am looking for an apartment) and stomach upsets caused by overeating. But this is not the whining challenge (although I would call it sharing instead of whining),so let me complete with the last 3 things I am grateful for.

1. I am grateful for Bah Kut Teh. Yes I cannot imagine a world without it , it is a world not worth living. Few things compare to that feeling of stripping the tender flesh off the bones with your teeth and savouring that wonderful taste. And the broth , it’s like tasting heaven itself. If you haven't tried it , you are totally missing out.

2. I am grateful for totally kicking ass at Scramble with Friends. Few things compare to totally kicking the asses of the people I play with without even making an effort. Sometimes I use my left hand just to make it a challenge , or even go make myself a cup of coffee or take a piss while I am playing a game. But I recognise that God through Pastor Kong is the one who gave me this God-given ability , and to them I am grateful. For maximum effect , I usually play Scramble after having Bah Kut Teh, it’s better than sex.

3. Finally , I am grateful to every person I met in this life, both the good and bad . I think I learnt something from every person I met . Either something that I admired in the person and tried to emulate , or a really bad trait that made me learn to avoid similar situations or people in the future. And the most important thing is probably without meeting all these people, I would never have met this wonderful current group of close friends I have now and totally adore and who I cannot imagine not being in my life. These are the same group of friends who I am very sure are planning something totally wonderful and unexpected for my birthday which is only 10 days away. Also I am sure they will all pool cash together to get me a gift no less than 500 dollars cos they are generous like that. I am very sure they will not disappoint me because that is the kind of friends they are.

So that is it for this challenge. It has been a very draining experience to say the least , and it has brought me to places I never been before. But I have completed it , and I think I am a better person for it. Shalom.

Sunday, February 09, 2014

Sometimes in life, you face seemingly impossible challenges. Challenges you never though you would ever have to face. Until the day when one of them drop right onto you, knocking the breath out of you literally suffocating you, leaving you no other choice than to face them head on. Tomorrow morning , I will be facing such a challenge. I am getting my wisdom teeth taken out, after which I will be unable to talk for up to a week.

Taking away the gift of speech from an Indian man (even if it is temporary) is as cruel as forcing a rich man to endure the stench of public transport. But to be honest, I am less concerned about my own well being. Instead I am more worried about my friends as they will miss the presence of my delightful and witty humour in their arguably mundane lives for the next few days. They are the ones I will have in my mind and in my heart, as I writhe around in unspeakable agony while forcing myself to eat baby food just to stay alive.

But this is life isn't it? How can you truly appreciate the beauty of what life has offered us, if you have not experienced the depths of ugliness that that same life can bring? No you cannot! And so I bravely take up this cross, for I do believe at the end of this excruciating journey there will be light.

I am no hero , just in case you wish to throw that meaningless title onto me. I am just a man who cares for his friends more than for himself.